POOR EXPOSITION OF THE WEEK: Just in case someone was tuning in to DS9
for the first time, the writers thoughtfully had Bashir and O'Brien spout a lengthy
summary of what happened in their subplot during the last two shows, to the point where
this episode's teaser was longer than the scenes that were summarized. Or maybe it just
seemed that way...

ALLEGORY OF THE WEEK: Star Trek is known for embedding
contemporary issues into its sci-fi plots. One of the biggest issues in the United States
at this time is espionage and incompetent government agencies. In this episode, Section 8
plays the role only too well. It's hard to believe that Section 8 could have been
successful in its mission and maintained its secrecy for two hundred years, given the
level of ineptitude shown here. First, we have Section 8 falling for Bashir's fake message
in the first place. Second, we have Section 8 sending in Super-Spy Sloan, the one agent
Bashir would recognize on sight, to sabotage his work. Super-spy Sloan arrives on DS9
wearing black leather thermal underwear, as usual, even though he should dress in a way
that maintains a low profile. Super-Spy Sloan does not go directly to the lab to find and
destroy Bashir's research, but instead goes to Bashir's quarters. Why? What was Sloan's
"assignment" for Bashir? Did he expect Bashir to destroy his own work? Was he
there to kill Bashir? If so, why didn't he? None of Sloan's or Section 8's actions here
make a damn bit of sense.

B-MOVIE CLICHE OF THE WEEK: The dream-within-a-dream hokum, wherein
the first escape from the dreamscape is not really an escape, which was old when Nightmare
on Elm Street did it, and hasn't gotten any fresher since.

TREK CLICHE OF THE WEEK: Bashir's ability to time Sloan's death down
to the second is a standard Trek "science" prank, right up there with
"You will have received a lethal radiation dose in exactly 1 minute 17 seconds,"
and other hoohah. It seemed to be there as a typical attempt to use a countdown to create
drama, one that failed miserably, in light of the fact that the jeopardy O'Brien and
Bashir were in was manufactured to the hilt. To wit...

CONTRIVANCE OF THE WEEK: Since O'Brien and Bashir informed the Captain
and got his permission to carry out their little mission, is there a reason why they
couldn't have requisitioned a medical technician to monitor them while they were in
Sloan's head, and pull the plug if anything went wrong?

TEMPORAL ANOMALY OF THE WEEK: Bashir announces Sloan will die within
the hour (presumably in exactly 58 minutes and 41 seconds). He asks O'Brien for a
technobabble device. Several scenes of O'Brien working feverishly are shown. Then,
"Let's go, we have 43 minutes before Sloan kicks." So that whole contraption was
built in under 17 minutes? It didn't seem that way...

LAUGH LINE OF THE WEEK: The "good" Sloan babbling incoherent
words when trying to tell Bashir what the cure is. Oddly, his scrambled speech didn't
sound any worse than the "real" technobabble we heard this week, the level of
which was quite a bit higher than is usual for DS9.

POOR PLANNING OF THE WEEK: There's a lot to choose from, but I guess
I'd vote for Bashir not anticipating Sloan's suicide attempt, even though his "James
Bond" holo-programs undoubtedly feature the "cyanide tooth" or its kin as a
means of keeping oneself from talking. Wouldn't a routine scan of the "patient"
be called for, under the circumstances, and wouldn't the suicide gizmo have been detected?

CRIMINALS OF THE WEEK: O'Brien and Bashir, obviously. Not because of
the illegal use of Romulan mind probes, for which there was good cause, I suppose, but
rather for breaking and entering Quark's twice, and for stealing Quark's booze. And where
was security, anyway?